Cheers to 70 years: NICEIC celebrates seven decades during a time of transition for our industry

In that time, our industry has been transformed – but certification remains the anchor keeping technical skill and a commitment to safety at the heart of the trade.

It’s 1956. The country is still reeling from the Second World War. Rationing only ended two years before. The Clean Air Act has just been passed in response to the deaths of thousands of London residents from the Great Smog. And rebuilding the nation continues to be a major, and urgent, priority.

A significant percentage of the UK’s housing stock was damaged or destroyed by bombing during the war, resulting in the urgent need for hundreds of thousands of new homes. Following the 1946 New Towns Act, towns including Stevenage (1946), Harlow (1947), Welwyn Garden City (1948), and Corby (1950) sprang up, all designed to ease urban overcrowding and homelessness following World War II.

All in all, over a million new homes were built between 1946 and 1951 as part of the government’s ‘Homes for All’ policy. And a key component of these first homes to be constructed in the modern, post-war era? Electricity.

The birth of NICEIC

In 1956, the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (today just NICEIC) was born, a voluntary registration body created to address rising concerns about the electrical safety of homes and businesses as electrification became increasingly widespread across the UK.

By 1977, NICEIC had over 6,000 businesses on our register of approved contractors. This grew to over 10,000 in 1997 and over 27,000 by 2014, before reaching the roll of 40,000+ businesses we are proud to have today.

For 70 years, our mission has been clear: helping to ensure high-quality electrical installations that keep people safe. And we hope to continue that legacy for the next 70 years and beyond.

Today, as we have always done, we assess, certify, and train electrical and other trade professionals to ensure they continue to uphold the highest standards of technical competency and safety, ensuring consumers, businesses, and specifiers across the UK have access to a register of businesses they can trust to do the job right.

Transitioning with the industry

Through upheaval, change, and transition, the NICEIC badge has been a constant. Over the years, demands on electrical contractors have grown, safety standards have evolved, and new regulations have redefined how contractors work.

The Grenfell Tower fire led to the Building Safety Act, which introduced sweeping legislative changes across the built environment sector, while concerns about electrical safety in rented properties led to the Electrical Safety Standards being introduced in England in 2020 (with similar laws coming into effect in the UK’s devolved nations). This law now requires landlords of private and social rented homes to carry out EICRs at least once every five years.

In 2026, updates to the Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (EAS), and the imminent publication of Amendment 4 to the 18th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations on 15 April, will both impact how certified businesses across the industry operate.

Through it all, NICEIC has been and will continue to be here to help certified businesses meet the highest standards and keep people and their properties safe. And we know our businesses will continue demonstrating an unwavering commitment to upholding those standards.

Why certification remains as relevant as ever

Following two decades of diminishing electricity use, 2024 and 2025 saw rising electricity consumption in the UK – the first back-to-back annual increase since 2003. This was largely driven by the increase of electric vehicles on our roads, the acceleration of heat pump uptake, and the proliferation of AI data centres.

And with the publication of the Warm Homes Plan in January 2026, which committed £15 billion in government funding to retrofit and upgrade up to five million homes with renewable technologies, this trend is set to continue.

To meet the government’s ambitious net-zero targets and continue the UK’s drive towards electrification, the country needs more certified electrical businesses than ever before, united in their dedication to quality workmanship and compliance with fast-evolving standards and regulations.

This also means addressing the growing skills gap across the construction industry, by encouraging more people to consider a career in the sector and putting the mechanisms in place to facilitate their training and development. Recently, NICEIC contributed to this conversation with the launch of Connected Futures, a dedicated electrotechnical apprenticeship job board designed to connect aspiring apprentices with NICEIC-certified businesses.

And so, the importance of safe, high-quality installations is as relevant today as it ever was, and will continue to be so for decades to come. And it’s our certified businesses that will lead the way.

Celebrating the businesses that have shaped NICEIC

Throughout our 70th year, NICEIC will celebrate the outstanding electrical businesses that have helped make us what we are today.

Special anniversary content and stories

We’ll be releasing new case studies telling the stories of some of our certified businesses, which have proudly displayed our badge on their vans and workwear for years or even decades. Find them on our case studies page.

Events

During this year of transition and change, we’ll be on the road more than ever at various events around the UK, giving you the chance to ask your questions and get tailored advice and support on the regulatory changes reshaping our industry.

Find us at:

• Two new NICEIC TechLive events – we’ll be holding our 2026 CPD events in Surrey (11 June) and Sheffield (30 September).
• ElexShow 2026 – drop by our stand at any of this year’s six ElexShows, whether you’re in Exeter, Harrogate, or somewhere in between.
• InstallerSHOW 2026 – join us at the UK’s largest trade show for the installation and built environment sectors on 23-25 June in Birmingham.

Expert advice to help your business navigate a changing sector

And, if you prefer to catch up on industry changes at your desk, we’ll ensure your business has access to the support it needs as we navigate this year of transition and change. We’ll be hosting special episodes of our ever-popular webinar series, The Wire, and providing advice and guidance through our monthly The Circuit e-newsletter, Connections magazine, and livestreamed Technical Q&As across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Finally – a huge thank you

To the consumers who employ NICEIC-certified businesses, to the specifiers who stipulate NICEIC-certified businesses for their contracts, and of course to our certified businesses themselves: thank you for the role you play in upholding high standards of quality, safety, and technical competency. We couldn’t do it without you.

Visit NICEIC’s special 70th anniversary webpage for more information about this milestone.

Here’s to the next 70 years!